November, 1911] THE LIBRARY JOURNAL I 
VoL. 36. No. 11. NovemBer, 1911 
Contents 
PAGE PAGE 
FREDERICK MorGAN CRUNDEN frontispiece | AMERICAN Liprary ASSOCIATION > SGkE 
Proceedings 
EDITORIALS , . ini ea 541s 
Death of Me Crunden STATE LIBRARY COMMISSIONS . 582 
Development in printing catalog cards Vermont 
Style of cards printed by different libraries STATE LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS . . 581 
International codperation in printing cards Maine 
Use of Library of Congress cards by small | Minnesota 
libraries New York State Teachers 
SYMPOSIUM ON PRINTED CATALOG CARDS. -— Con- | LIBRARY CLUBS . 586 
tributed by various libraries - 543 Bay Path 
The Library of Congress Chicago 
Harvard University _ Southern Worcester 
New Jona Babe ePary. | Syracuse 
e John Crerar Library : z 
Botton iPablic Library | LIBRARY SCHOOLS AND TRAINING CLASSES 5 ety 
: 4 j Carnegie Library of Atlanta 
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh 
is : ; . Drexel Institute 
University of Chicago Library New York Public Library 
ILLUSTRATIONS OF SAMPLE CARDS he ee aed New York State 
Co6PERATION BETWEEN. LIBRARIES, SCHOOLS AND Pratt Institute 
MUSEUMS. — Henry W. Kent . >} Say | Syracuse University 
University of Illinois 
ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE COL- University of Wisconsin 
= LEGE LIBRARY. — Dr. Louis R, Wilson 560 | Western Reserve University 
FFICIENCY IN COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Ravinwe 
ok W's dua ae. Wek S oe . 594 
WORK. Willard Austen 566 Bishop. Library of Congress 
THE PERTH MEETING OF THE Barpise: Petes Bolton. American library history 
ASSOCIATION 4 SES 571 Borden. Scheme of classification 
LIBRARY PuoGRrss In Buirisi CoLumsta 573 Chicago, _ Educational opportunities 


A 


NEW DEPARTURE. mae. ee E. Tucker 
Dracass 3 - 577 


SERIES NUMBER IN REGISTRATION. Neate Woek- 


Trenton Free Public Library. Bcoks on indus- 
trial arts 
Wrong. Review of historical publications relat- 


ing to Canada 


A of Brower : - 578 | Trprary ECONOMY AND HISTORY . 598 

UNICIPAL REFERENCE LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES.— : 
Sinton Rovers Woodruit 378 GIFTS AND BEQUESTS . 603 
LIBRARIANS ; ne . 603 

REUBEN McMitran Free Lisrary, SES LED 
Outo.— Anna L. Morse ; . . 879 | CATALOGING AND CLASSIFICATION . 606 
ILLustTraTIONS — Reusen McMILran Foee L1- BIBLIOGRAPHY . 606 
BRARY Gea Aa facing page 580 ' Liprary CALENDAR . 608 
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS 

PAGE | PAGE 
NMHC. eG.) “&y SONS... . oss inside front cover | Library Supplies (Dealers in)................. 18 
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mmenican News. Company. ...sccsseserceeeees 6 |) Lundstrom (C. J.) Mfg. Cov... 1.1... e ee eee 15 
Art Metal, Construction Company............ PaNECC ure GAR CSc COG am oleae cigetes ate eet eiaiene 7 
Baketm com liaylon COMPAaNly.sieiccis see cc cers eco ee'e-e TSelMcintosth Stereopticon ‘Cow... .... 6.65. ce. sere 5 
Bake eee rent 00K (SHOP efcrertiviers cicielele acess ous el KOMI NVAl ATED yooarevorestete te; bie wierd si s/e) abner 4th cover page 
Bonnier (Albert) Publishing House........... 18 | New International Encyclopedia.............- 4 
Booksellers, GDsrectory Of) <> sfjecclosisiemels s sess «0 TAleubplisherses Wieeklysn O§MiCen Obes veelereb cle aes el= 16 
ESGMCH UTS MLL MANTA ccoetetcia cus; sPeueNcie levatalis, c/ai-visinte, s'elars na || Teteharehseas: (CEs, 1S) seutiguchonsoOoub Uocc SO MaOr yf 
Ciiversme Bookbinding (CO)... wis.s)sm mies cies cieleie GS). || Olenveiveny seysecentclas aanea5 cocouGdsDDoddnOeneS 13 
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By teeUM STL PCO «svcd chavs, oft %s lor s.0)3, tee Ds eo STS 8 | Scribner’s (Charles) SONS titeco ne cane eieeians si0oe 15 
Encyclopedia Britannica........(colored insert) 9-12 | Situations Wanted........ .s.eeeereereenenecs 18 
LPtORU SY, CEDAR its he Sie RemORG) 5 CnC ICECNEREICE Ne uC MEER Cue mene ROMS GAGs Soe COM ETOne VWOLK Sam tmarecaoitee orate bisa /srale 2 
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THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 


|e ORAREDRRY OSSRGEEN  EREESLY PRET a GE RT re LR SG RRO ct ARR ESA SS FEL ANETTA SESS a Saye) EARS NSS Ee ar SAT SPOS GACP TRACI EPS SUR I ET iS I ES PP a RE RTT SSB NST RS PR, TED OI SACOG OIA aL SAIL SSS 


Over 600 Libraries are Equipped 
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send you some views of 
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library equipment— 
showing the various 
types of stacks and 
furniture. A Postal 
well bring them.., 


IBRARIANS, as custodians of valuable collections, are 
vitally interested in the ‘‘Art Metal” method of fire 
prevention. So many libraries have been destroyed by in- 
flammable fixtures and furniture that steel is now regarded 
as the only suitable material for the equipment of such 
buildings 


The ‘*Art Metal” product is more extensively used 
than any other for the fireproofing of library interiors Our 
plant is the largest in the world, and offers through its staff 
of trained designers the best obtainable service for the as- 
sistance of librarians in planning library equipment. 


‘ART METAL’ 
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offer a number of forms of shelf construction—each designed 
to meet individual requirements. Our “Standard” and 
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testimonial of ‘‘Art Metal” superiority. 


We build complete furnishings for libraries in steel and 
bronze: stacks, fixtures and furniture ; and work either from 
architects’ designs, or prepare original plans 


We have interesting information for librarians who are 
contemplating new or remodelled interiors, and we welcome 
all opportunities of demonstrating the value of our services 
without charge for preliminary plans and estimates. 


ART METAL CONSTRUCTION CO. 


Jamestown, N. Y. 


Branch Offices tn All Principal Cities 


[November, 191 


November, 1911] 


nity. It is for the museums to offer their 
help freely and in the spirit of public ser- 
vants, and for the people, especially for the 
educators, to accept it. 

The museums generally throughout this 
country are prepared to receive the school 
children, believing that through them the 
whole community is to be instructed. with the 
things which they contain. They offer privi- 
leges to the teachers, often teaching them 
how to get at the root of the thing, aiding 
them to the study of the objects in their collec- 
tions, offering classroom for meeting places, 
lantern slides and photographs for study. 
They put their collections into the hands of 
the teachers in order that they may illus- 
trate their studies with real things instead 
of the poor half-tones of stereotyped exam- 
ples to be found in histories of Egypt, 
Greece, Rome, and the Middle Ages, 

A museum of art, no matter how it is 
arranged, whether according to a scheme of 
chronology, or of materials, or of the purely 
esthetic, is approachable from different 
points of view by the student, depending on 
his wants and his frame of mind. In the 
Greek statue so long monopolized by the 
archeologist, who dictates a belief in its 
beauty whether it is beautiful or not, the 
seeker may find history, ethnology, religion, 
craftsmanship, and political economy. 

A child set to read the “Idyls of the king,” 
as an adjunct to his study of English, will gain 
a new interest in it when he sees the armor, 
swords, and lances in the armory at Madrid. 
Egyptian history becomes a live thing when 
he studies the vivid pictures from tomb and 
temple walls, the intimate objects, rings, 
necklaces, shoes, and so on that go to make 
up the collections of the museums’ depart- 
ment of “antiquities” of this country. The 
“Tliad” has a new meaning after an intro- 
duction to the vases on which the artists of 
the fifth century p.c. pictured the scenes 
which they themselves heard described by 
some old bard, 

It is to be regretted that so many peda- 
gogues have come to believe that knowledge 
is for the sake of knowledge and not of 
enjoyment or worldly profit—that teachers 
should always be so serious. If schools do 
not teach the importance of mental repose 
and spiritual enjoyment, there is little hope 
for this community except in the flesh-pots 


THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 


559 


or in religion. Mental enjoyment has too 
long been the prerogative of the clergy, who 
were quick to perceive their gain by the 
promise of peace of mind through religion. 
Surely this cannot be the only peace of mind 
and surely such a state is not their mo- 
nopoly. 

Let the children understand the real value 
of the works of art contained in our mu- 
seums. Let the teachers tell them boldly of 
the pleasures to be obtained in the contem- 
plation of them, and let it all be put upon 
a perfectly natural basis. 

The teacher does not need to be told that 
lessons done with interest are lessons well 
done, that history studied from the docu- 
ments themselves becomes real at once. 
Study is required to learn that Rameses built 
the Great pyramid, but no study is needed 
to fix this fact in the mind when the pyra- 
mid is seen and climbed. 

Codperation between libraries and muse- 
ums can reasonably be expected because both 
institutions are dependent upon the same 
thing for their usefulness—the desire of the 
people for knowledge and recreation. Each 
depends upon the other just as much as each 
in turn depends upon the schools. This 
codperation, however, is a little like 
charity, in that it should begin with the li- 
brary. My attitude will remind you of the 
pessimist’s definition of love as a state into 
which two people enter, one of them con- 
senting to be loved. Most of the hard work 
of this codperation has to be done by the 
library for this reason. The museum quite 
logically sends its patrons to the library, 
but the library feels that it has done its 
duty when it has supplied its patrons with its 
works. The library must understand that 
the museum is its ally, must learn that the 
illustration of books is as useful as the writ- 
ten word, must understand that some kinds 
of knowledge are best learned first without 
books—would better be sought in the sub- 
ject itself, 

The method of codperation between mu- 
seums and libraries in its general principles 
is so obvious that it is almost unnecessary 
to define it. The museum furnishes recre- 
ation, food for the imagination, education— 
it furnishes the illustrations for many kinds 
of books. Let the librarian say to his read- 
ers: “Such and such a work has 56 plates, 


560 | BES 
43 illustrations, and 7 folding maps engraved 
by so and so on stone after drawings by so 
and so from objects in Egypt, but if you 
will go to the museum you will find the 
real thing, so arranged with others of its 
kind and related kinds that your book will 
not only be illustrated but illuminated; you 
will find your book in pictographs.” In point 
of fact, if the museum has laid out its ex- 
hibits in a perfect manner, the book is almost 
unnecessary. A collection of minerals scien- 
tifically arranged and well labelled, in a 
museum of science, should enable the visitor 
to understand the geological classes. For 
the accessory facts only is the book neces- 
sary. The book on natural history is only 
a record of observations. Such observation 
can be reproduced pictographically or, as in 
the Museum of Natural History, by illus- 
tration groups. More physics can be learned 
in the Musée des Arts et Métiers in an hour 
by observation of the remarkable objects 
there than can be learned in a book in a 
week of study. More natural history can be 
learned in the Bronx Zoological Garden than 
in any number of illustrated subscription 
volumes. More art can be learned by a 


THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 


[November, 191 


thoughtful half-hour’s study of a painting 
than in any number of volumes by Vernon 
Lee or even by Ruskin, Any subject which 
is written from observation can be learned 
by the same methods better than by a sec- 
ond-hand method. Where you can see a 
thing for yourself, you don’t need some one 
else to tell you about it. 

Free codperation between libraries and 
museums will come when the librarian tells 
the seeker after knowledge about birds to 
go to the Bronx; the student of electricity, 
to the power-house; the one needing es- 
thetic recreation and pleasure, to the museum 
of art. Then he will find that these pat- 
rons will come back again to read more 
intelligently, if not so steadily. 

In conclusion, let me say that, while I 
believe it to be true that reading for infor- 
mation is bound to decrease with the com- 
ing years of this era of universal knowledge, 
reading for enjoyment, which is the best kind 
of reading, will increase as our powers for 
emotional enjoyment expand—the kind of 
emotional enjoyment that is cultivated by 
our museums of art. 


ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE COLLEGE LIBRARY * 


By Lours R. Witson, Librarian University of North Carolina 


Ir the organization of a college library is 
compared with that of a public library, I 
believe the conviction will be forced upon 
the one who makes the comparison that col- 
lege library’s organization is less thorough, 
and consequently less capable of producing 
beneficial results, than the organization of the 
public library. The college library, seeming- 
ly, is subordinated to other interests and does 
not enjoy an existence as untrammeled and 
independent as that of the public library. Its 
librarian, instead of being librarian, is libra- 
rian and something else—secretary to the 
faculty, purchasing agent for students’ books 
and stationery, professor of some subject, 
with certain periods per day devoted to the 
affairs of the library. 

It therefore devolves upon any of us who 


* Read before the Georgia Library Association, at 
Athens, Ga., April, ro1z. 


are college librarians to attempt to change 
this condition and to right this wrong. This 
we can best do, first, by insisting on the ac- 
ceptance by the administrative head of our 
respective institutions of what we conceive 
to be the correct way of thinking concern- 
ing the library, and, second, by likewise in- 
sisting that while the library shall show cour- 
tesy and consideration to the faculty and all 


of its reasonable wants, it shall not be wholly . 


subordinated to it. 

Every college librarian, to the extent that 
he is an administrator of a department or 
office in any given college, ought, by the 
very nature of things, to owe responsibility 
directly to his chief and to him alone. His 
position in this respect should be identical 
with that of all administrators whatsoever. 
His schedule of work, like that of the pro- 
fessor, should be reasonably defined and with- 


November, 1911] 


in such limits as are in harmony with ‘the 
general activity of the college. He ‘should 
be given the opportunity to devote the best 
he has within himself to the upbuilding of 
an effective, helpful institution. His spirit 
of initiative, in so far as it is regulated by 
reason, should be encouraged by his chief, 
and his good works should receive their just 
cemmendation both in word and in remu- 
neration. 

Tnasmuch as the library of any college is 
intended for the professor and the student, 
ratuer than for the librarian, it is but right 
that the faculty should have some part in 
the administration of certain phases of ile 
libraty’s work. This should be sharply de- 
fined and ordinarily should be left to a small 
bui representative committee of the faculty, 
which should work in connection with the 
librarian. To this committee, together with 
the piesident and librarian, should be as- 
signed the duty of formulating regulations 
for the use of the library, the apportioning 
of book. funds for the use of the respective 
departments and general library, and of pur- 
chasing books and periodicals for the general 
library. It should expect and receive no spe- 
cial privileges on account of its office, Lut 
on the contrary should studiously avoid the 
infiingement of regulations for which it de- 
mands observance on the part of others. 
To its members the librarian should give 
sich consideration as they of a right mighr 
demand, but he should feel himself in no 


_ sense responsible to them for that part of: 


his work for which he is solely responsib’e 
to his chief. In all matters of administra- 
tion oi a purely business nature, such as tie 
keeping of library accounts, placing orders, 
of employing assistants, of caring for the 
building, of classifying and cataloging books, 
of performing all those technical adminis- 
trative duties which inhere to the position, 
the word of the librarian should be final. 
If he is to be anything more than a clerk, 
if his spirit of initiative is to result in the 
betterment of the office over which he pre- 
sides, if he is to develop and grow to the 
full requirements of his position, he must 
feel the weight of the responsibility on his 
own shoulders, and must experience the joy 
which comes not from sharing in the rewards 


THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 


561 


of another’s toil, but in that of his own. 
This may seem to be a harsh doctrine. It 
means no keys for the members of the li- 
brary committee, no special privileges by 
which the Atlantic Monthly or the Century 
may be taken out over night, or a new un- 
cataloged book may be withdrawn before 
plating, but it means the better administra- 
tion of the library in the end. It is the 
only way by which the librarian can be sure 
of himself and his work. 

With these two points considered, and they 
are of the greatest importance, I shall pass 
to the consideration of the organization 
proper of the college Hbrary. 

The first consideration under this head is 
one of finance. The librarian should know 
at the beginning of the year that all salaries 
and regular necessary expenses of mainte- 
nance will be provided for by the college, 
and that in addition to the funds necessary 
therefor there will be a library fund placed 
to the credit of the library by the college 
bursar. Whatever system of bookkeeping 
may be adopted, all bills which havé to be 
paid out of this fund should originate 
through the librarian and should bear his 
approval before they are paid. In general it 
would be far the better practice if he kept 
his books in such a way that he could know 
at any moment the expenditures made by 
any department or for any given purpose, 
and that the bursar merely paid the bill 
and charged it to the library account. In 
this way the bursar would have only one 
account to handle, and the librarian, who 
naturally is familiar with the expenditures 
for each department and for each purpose, 
would keep such records as are necessary to 
show in detail the various expenditures in 
their entirety. In the main, the fund should 
be, or rather is, derived from three sources: 
from the college direct, as an appropriation ; 
from the student fees; and from invested en- 
dowment funds. In this way the library can 
count on a regular income and can plan 
from year to year in such a way as will 
insure the steady, even development of the 
library. In my own experience I am sure 
that nothing has contributed more to the 
worth of the library than the fixed policy, 
based as it is upon the assurance of the 
regular income, of setting apart certain funds 


562 


for the development of given parts of the 
library. I believe that our strength in com- 
plete sets of periodicals—and I consider it 
great—is due solely to this one fact. 

As has been indicated, this fund should be 
apportioned among the various departments 
and the general library. After the appor- 
tionment is made at the beginning of the 
term, those concerned should be notified. 
Recommendation should be received from 
the various departments for books and peri- 
odicals, and the librarian and library com- 
mittee should work out the budget for the 
general library. After that has been care- 
fully planned, every effort should be made 
to carry it out as fully as possible. 

It would seem hardly necessary to take up 
in detail the organization of all the various 
departments of the library; however, it is 
worth while to note the necessity of keeping 
a careful record of the work of the order 
department. Possibly no other part of the 
work, unless it be that of keeping files of 
periodicals complete and preparing them for 
the bindery, requires more careful oversight 
if the records are to be a comfort every 
time reference is made to them. Ordinarily 
it would seem sufficient to keep an alphabeti- 
cal card list of all outstanding orders. Upon 
the receipt of an invoice, the cards can be 
checked and transferred to a list of books 
received. When the books are cataloged, 
when the proper entries have been made in 
the accession book, showing to what depart- 
ment they belong, and when the catalog cards 
have been placed in the catalog, then, and 
not until then, is it advisable to throw the 
order cards away. In addition to this it is 
frequently desirable to write or typewrite 
orders for easy checking, but this can scarce- 
ly take the place of cards. If, for instance, 
a given department has a fund of $200, the 
librarian should be able, by reference to the 
ledger, to the bills payable, and to the out- 
standing orders, to tell in a very few mo- 
ments what part of the given fund has been 
covered and what part remains to be spent. 
In the larger colleges where the departments 
are reasonably numerous and where there are 
several members in each department, the re- 
quest for this particular information is fre- 
quently made and an answer can only be 
given when some such method as has been 
suggested is strictly followed. 


THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 


[November, 191 


While I do not believe in dispensing with 
the accession book as a necessary record of 
the library, I believe in making the record 
contained in it simple and capable of being 
kept by help not specially trained, but pos- 
sessed of ability to follow directions. The 
accessioning and the plating, pocketing, and 
labelling of books should in the main be 
left to a subordinate. 

You will note that in speaking of the or- 
ganization proper of the library I am begin- 
ning with first things first, and, as they say 
in golf and tennis, I am “following through” 
in what seems to me the logical way. First 
the ordering, then the accessioning, etc., and 
then the classifying and cataloging. And let 
me Say, in coming to this particular subject, 
that I consider the work of the cataloger 
and classifier of the college library more 
difficult than that of the cataloger and classi- 
fier of the public library. The fact that as 
a rule college libraries are for reference, are 
technical, are in large part in foreign lan- 
guages, makes it necessary that the libra- 
rian bring to this work a definite knowledge 
of French, German, Latin, and Greek and a 
general acquaintance with much of the mi- 
nutely technical and scientific. The classifier 
must of necessity be able to get at, for 
example, the subject matter of a German 
treatise on the dynamics of a particle, the 
title and preface being in German, or the 
story of the “Departed Guest” in modern 
Greek. Furthermore, the subject headings 
are more varied and must be assigned with 
greater exactness. And then the professor, 
who may disdain to think of the decimal sys- 
tem as a work based on scientific principles, 
and insists on a special system adapted to his 
then prevailing ideas, has to be met. For 
this difficult work the classifier and cata- 
loger needs the use of many of the more 
extensive printed catalogs, such as the Pea- 
body and Pittsburgh, and must study to make 
the classification scheme and subject head- 
ings to correspond as nearly as possible to 
the actual needs of the college. In my own 
experience I have found that the ability on 
the part of the cataloger to read several lan- 
guages with reasonable facility, and to ana- 
lyze the contents of volumes logically and 
scientifically, is a greater asset than any other 
that may be brought to bear upon the work 
of the cataloging room. 


November, 1911] 


While it is not my intention to discuss the 
assignment of author numbers, it is proper 
in this connection to say that in this work 
the presence of numerous commentaries, 
translations, and criticisms of works in for- 
‘eign languages to be found in a college li- 
brary makes this subject of more impor- 
tance than it is in the public library. I 
notice that in public libraries there is a ten- 
dency to discard the author number. I do 
not believe it can be done safely in the col- 
lege library. 

To mention the loan desk and the work 
centering around it in distributing the books 
ordered, classified, and cataloged, raises the 
question of open or closed shelves. Having 
had six years of experience with the open 
shelf and four with the closed, I feel I am 
in a position to speak of the comparative 
merits and demerits of the two systems. 
From the point of view of administration by 
a small staff, I am convinced that it is much 
easier and more satisfactory to carry on 
the work at the loan desk with the closed 
Shelves. If borrowers are required to pre- 
sent call slips and the books are carefully 
placed in order on the shelves, the work can 
be handled with great despatch and is freed 
from the maddening, fruitless searching for 
books which, under the open-shelf regime, 
have either been misplaced or stealthily car- 
ried away. I am perfectly aware that the 
student cannot indulge his propensity to 
“Drowse,” but if he maintains a good record 
during the first part of his course, the privi- 
lege is given him later under restrictions, 
and an effort, I cannot say how successful, 
is made toward compensation. This, to my 
mind, is best done by giving him compara- 
tively free range in the periodical and refer- 
ence rooms, by placing the new-books case 
in his reach and by putting several hundred 
readable books at his disposal in an open 
shelf reading or standard library room, in 
which, if some are taken by stealth or others 
are badly disarranged, the completeness of 
necessary working sets will not be broken and 
the serious work of the library will not be 
seriously interfered with. This is the prac- 
tice now followed with us, and I find that 
the circulation, instead of decreasing, has in- 
creased, and I believe as a consequence the 
library has meant more to the students than 


THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 


563 


it would if they had been given free range. 
To seniors recommended by the professors, 
to graduate students, and to the faculty, free 
access can be granted with very satisfactory 
results, as all when admitted to the stacks 
for the first time can be advised of the ne- 
cessity of orderly arrangement, etc. 

At this point, and in fact in all of this 
discussion, I must ask your pardon if I seem 
to speak rather frequently of the work with 
which I have been connected personally; for 
I must of necessity speak out of my own 
experience. I have come to the conclusion 
that in the case of the average college stu- 
dent it is not too much to demand of him 
a reasonably exact account of all the books 
he takes out for two weeks. I expect him to 
write out his call slip in full. When the 
book is charged, if real completeness of 
record is desired, a three-card system should 
be used. The call slip may be used as the 
record of the daily issue. The book cards 
may be arranged in a tray as a shelf list of 
the books out, and the call numbers can be 
entered on the borrower’s card to show ex- 
actly what book he has out at any time. In 
this way when a book is called for a glance 
at the call numbers of books out at once 
shows whether or not the book is in with- 
out reference to the stack. If the call slips 
are made on fairly stiff paper and are of the 
same size as book cards, and are so made up 
as to show call numbers, titles, and authors, 
respectively, they can easily be arranged to 
represent the daily issue. The method may 
seem laborious, but it tells one where a book 
is, and that answer is satisfying. Books for 
parallel readings and for debates should be 
handled from the desk rather than placed 
where students can getatthem. They should 
be called for in a slightly less formal way 
than other books, should not be allowed to 
be taken out except at certain hours, and 
should be recorded separate from others, An 
average of 70 such books are thus loaned 
daily in our library and with practically no 
trouble. The fact that a rather excessive fine 
is imposed in the event a rule governing 
their issue is broken, and that it is collected 
or the privilege of using the library is with- 
drawn, may partly account for this. Boolss 
charged temporarily to members of depart- 
ments are necessarily exempt from fines and 


564 


are recorded in such a way as not to inter- 
fere with the regular issue. Books located 
in the seminar rooms, in so far as they are 
technical—and the majority of them are—are 
not issued. However, if they are, they are 
subject to the regulations governing regu- 
lar issues and can be issued only by the 
desk and not by the professor in charge of 
the seminar. Books in departments housed 
outside the library are left to the professors 
in charge, subject to such supervision by the 
librarian as may not seem obtrusive to the 
department. Few college libraries have as 
yet been able to place librarians in charge of 
departmental collections except in law and 
medicine. That it would be desirable goes 
without saying, but lack of money usually 
prohibits it. This general plan, though seem- 
ingly complicated, works smoothly and is 
productive of good results. 

The whole effort of the library, however, 
should be made to contribute to the need of 
the inquirer, whether student or professor. 
It should, through its resources as a refer- 
ence store, be made to answer his questions. 
To this end the reference portion should be 
built up carefully, and the librarian himself 
should have certain office hours, or rather 
desk hours, during which he can lay aside 
his usual administrative duties and can 
serve as desk or reference librarian. To do 
this successfully he should know how to use 
the keys to the reference material, and he 
should attempt to know what the campus 
life demands. The college librarian must not 
let his duties coasume him so completely 
that he has to forego knowing the college’s 
life and thought. In addition to having the 
librarian approachable and accessible, the desk 
attendants should also be well trained in the 
use of reference material and especially taught 
to handle parallel readings and debate refer- 
ences easily. The real strength of the li- 
brary and its consequent usefulness or use- 
lessness to the student body lies just here. 
And in addition to this, it should be the 
duty of the librarian to take the various 
classes for a period or two each year during 
their course and explain certain phases of 
reference work to them. During the fresh- 
man year the catalog and a few of the in- 
dexes may be explained. In the second, pre- 
liminary work may be outlined in the prepa- 


THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 


[November, 1911 


ration of debates and in the use of magazine 
indexes. In the junior and senior years work 
may be assigned involving the use of trade 
catalogs and the compilation of serious bibli- 
ographies. All should be so related to the 
work in course that it should not prove 
burdensome. As a matter of fact, it is best 
done when it is done as a requirement made 
by the professor, but carried out through the 
aid of the librarian. 

In this paper, up to this point, I have 
spoken of what I conceive to be the correct 
relation of the college librarian to the presi- 
dent and the faculty and how he can perform 
best certain of his duties. From this point 
on I wish to point out what I think his rela- 
tions should be to the students, or rather 
what his services and the services of his 
library should be to the student and to the 
state. I firmly believe that it lies with the 
librarian whether or not the student, when 
he goes out into life, is to be the possessor 
of a library conscience. By that I mean, 
whether or not there will be that in him 
which will cause him to note the absence or 
presence of a library in his community or of 
books in his own home. I hold it to be the 
duty of the college library to awaken this 
consciousness in him and so to cultivate it 
that it will give evidences of its power in 
his life in after years. In other particulars 
it should serve him thus: First, it should 
teach him to handle skillfully an alphabetical 
card catalog; he should be able to master 
its principle. If he becomes a physician, 
or a lawyer, or a merchant, or what not, 
in the modern professions and in the organi- 
zation of modern business, he will find the 
need of it absolutely imperative. 

Secondly, it should bring him a first-hand 
acquaintance with some of the special maga- 
zines and books which will be of service to 
him in his after career. He should learn 
that all useful knowledge cannot be carried 
by one memory, but that real ability lies in 
being able to find material in given sources. 

Thirdly, he should be impressed with the 
value of reading for its own sake and as 
a means of constant pleasure and enrichment 
of the mind. He should be brought to the 
conviction that it is one of the royal high- 
ways to true culture. 

Finally, the library should bring him, at 


November, 1911] 


some rare moment, under the spell of some 
great inspirational book, under whose power 
he is made to see and feel the real meaning 
of life. 

In the present issue of the LiprAry jour- 
NAL is an article by President Wyer, of the 
A. L. A., entitled “Outside the walls,’ which 
I. should like to commend to the college li- 
brarians in particular. Its central theme is 
that as a class librarians withdraw them- 
selves from the life by which they are sur- 
rounded, that they view it as it were from 
afar. In my own experience I have felt the 
truthfulness of the accusation, and my life 
is a daily fight against that besetting sin. 
There are the thousands of books to cata- 
log, the magazines gather incessantly for 
the binder, the debate references never cease 
to demand attention, a year of hard work 
could be devoted to the departmental libraries 
alone, etc., ad infinitum, and the tendency 
is ever present to stick by the task and let 
the life of the campus and the state sweep 
by. 

In concluding this paper I want to say 
that I feel it to be the special duty of col- 
lege librarians in the south, where real li- 
brary extension work toa very large measure 
is going to have to be done through the 
schools, to break the silence by which their 
useful lives have been characterized and to 
speak forth to their respective states what- 
ever word of helpfulness may be in their 
heart. In matters pertaining to education 
they should be looked to for leadership, and 
if education is to spread by means of the 
library as well as by means of the school, 
the voice of the college librarian as well 
that of the college teacher should be heard 
speaking of the way to a larger, richer, 
fuller life. 

In his invitation to me to address you at 
this meeting Mr. Burnet suggested that I 
might simply tell you of our work at Chapel 
Hill. Naturally I have hesitated in doing 
this. I might say, however, that there are 
several features of our work in which I 
feel a particular interest and pride. The 
first of these is that our library is a grow- 
ing library. I am finishing my tenth year in 


THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 


565 


its service. Since taking up my duties I 
have seen its gross income increase from 
$2250 in 1901 to $11,000 in 1910. I have seen 
its endowment grow from nothing to nearly 
$60,000. I have seen its uncataloged collec- 
tion of 35,000 volumes in 1901 grow into a 
cataloged collection of over 50,000. As a 
matter of fact, I have accessioned, or clas- 
sified, or cataloged, or ordered, or handled 
in some way practically every book in the 
collection. I have witnessed the transition 
from an old to a new building, and it was 
yny pleasure to draft the rough plans of our 
present home. Better than all of this, I 
have seen the staff grow from a librarian 
and two student assistants, who gave only 
a part of their time, to a staff of seven, two 
of whom give all of their time and five of 
whom give a good portion. Furthermore, 
the library has won a place for itself in the 
university and is permitted to maintain a 
student apprentice class, for which the stu- 
dents are given university credits, and to 
offer a course in library methods suitable 
for teachers to all students in the university 
preparing to teach. In so far as it has been 
possible, the library has tried to serve the — 
state through representation on the State 
Association and Library Commission. It has 
been its rare fortune to help in the organi- 
zation of both and to contribute to their in- 
creasing activities. During January, Febru- 
ary, and March 134 letters were received by 
it from parties in the state asking for vari- 
ous kinds of information. 

Again I ask pardon for mentioning these 
matters, but I merely mention them because 
in a very slight way they approximate what 
I think should be the full quota of work of 
the college library. 

There is plenty of work for each of us to 
do. There is a splendid opportunity for us, 
even though handicapped for funds and re- 
stricted in what we consider our true limita- 
tions, to touch for good the life of our com- 
munities, and I have faith in us that as a 
body of workers we will yet bring to our 
southland the blessings of an intelligent, con- 
secrated service. 


Sac 


EFFICIENCY IN COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WORK * Goeth 


_ THE LIBRARY JOURNAL 


[November, 191I 


By Witriarp AustTEN, Assistant Librarian Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 


SOME years since the problem of greater 
efficiency in industrial plants began to be 
seriously studied and the results effectively 
applied in spite of the objection that came 
from the rule of thumb management that 
had come to be the standard of most indus- 
trial enterprises. Two cardinal principles 
that have crystallized out of this study and 
application are, first, the standardization of 
the process, by which is meant the finding 
the best way of doing any piece of work 
and requiring all workmen to do it that way; 
and second, the functional division of labor, 
by which is meant that some persons are 
better adapted to the doing of one kind of 
work than they are to other kinds, and effi- 
ciency requires the elimination of those not 
adapted to a particular kind of work and the 
substitution of those that are. 

The use of the latest and best kinds of 
machinery has been so long an established 
principle in manufacturing processes, re- 
quired by the law of competition, that it 
scarcely enters into the problem of industrial 
efficiency. The substitution of the new type 
of turbines that increase the horse power 
from 120,000 to 147,000 at the great Niagara 
Falls power plant is but an illustration of the 
industrial sensitiveness to the advantages of 
the latest type of machinery. But the im- 
provement of the human factor in the indus- 
trial process has not been so obviously ad- 
vantageous or possible. 

This study of efficiency has called into ex- 
istence a new type of official in the industrial 
world, who devotes his time, not to doing the 
work, but to the study of processes and the 
training of the workmen into the best ways 
of doing their work. They are known as 
efficiency experts, and while all managers of 
industrial plans are not convinced of the 
value of their services, enough has been 
done to establish the need of such work in 
some branches of industry. 

It was not until the Carnegie Foundation 


* Read before the New York State meeting, New 
York City, Oct. 27, ro1z. 


issued its Bulletin no. 5, under the title 
“Academic and industrial efficiency,” that at- 
tention was called to the possible application 
of the greater efficiency principle to the in- 
tellectual plants of the modern world, be they 
colleges, universities or industrial schools. 
Although the writer of the Bulletin clearly 
recognized that there could be no such com- 
parison between the cost of production and 
the finished product, having a marketable 
value, as in the case of the industrial plant, 
since there is no measureable finished prod- 
uct, he did emphasize what many have long 
felt, viz., that much of the work in educa- 
tional institutions is being done without the 
application of the principles of economy of 
time, energy and money, such as an industrial 
plant would be sure to apply from its very 
foundation. How far these principles can 
be applied and how desirable that they should 
be applied is a subject on which there is a 
wide difference of opinion. Mr. Slosson, in 
his “Great American universities,” says: 
“There is too much lost motion somewhere 
in the process,’ and calls attention to the 
fact that many high grade officials are al- 
lowed to do the work of a lower grade of 
labor. Such a condition may be due to the 
use of antiquated machinery and methods, to 
the lack of organization or the principle of 
the functional division of labor. No one has 
studied the processes as yet with the object 
of standardizing them or applying the func- 
tional division of labor principle to the many 
divisions of an educational institution. There 
are those who contend that it is not possible 
to apply the principles of industrial efficiency 
to academic work even on broad lines, much 
less in any detailed way. Some critics of the 
application of the principles contend that 
such an application would destroy the ideal- 
ism now sought in college work, that it 
would commercialize educational work and 
thus put it on a lower plane in the eyes of 
the young, who should be taught to value 
education above any commercial plane. 
Granting idealism to be an essential factor to 


